The chupacabra(or chupacabras) is (are) a cryptid said to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated particularly with Puerto Rico (where it was first reported), Mexico, Chile, Brazil and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities and Maine. The name translates literally from the Spanish as "goat-sucker". It comes from the creature's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Sightings began in Puerto Rico in the early 1990s, and have since been reported as far north as Maine, and as far south as Chile. Though some argue that the chupacabras may be real creatures, mainstream scientists and experts generally contend that the chupacabra is a legendary creature, or a type of urban legend. National Geographic did a report on the existence of Chupacabras and they found a supposed chupacabra skeleton on a local farm ground.

History
The legend of el chupacabra began in about 1992, when Puerto Rican newspapers El Vocero and El Nuevo Dia began reporting the killings of many different types of animals, such as birds, horses, and as its name implies, goats. However, it is predated by El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca), a creature blamed for similar killings that occurred in the small town of Moca in the 1970s. While at first it was suspected that the killings were done randomly by some members of a Satanic cult, eventually these killings spread around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. The killings had one pattern in common: Each of the animals found dead had two punctured holes around its neck.

Soon after the animal deaths in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Brazil, the United States and, most notably, Mexico.

Both in Puerto Rico and Mexico, "el chupacabra" gained urban legend status. Chupacabra stories began to be released several times in American and Hispanic newscasts across the United States, and chupacabra merchandise, such as T-shirts and baseball caps, were sold.

The chupacabra is generally treated as a product of mass hysteria, though the animal mutilations are sometimes real. Like many cases of such mutilations, however, it has been argued that they are often not as mysterious as they might first appear, and in fact, a series of tests showcased by the National Geographic Channel in a show about the chupacabra pointed to the obvious conclusion that every single "animal mutilation" can be explained by either people killing them or, more likely, other animals eating them. The loss of blood may be explained by insects drinking it.

Sightings
Some information in this section has not been verified and may not be reliable.
Please check for any inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.
Certain South American rain forest natives believe in the "mosquito man", a mythical creature of their folklore that pre-dates modern chupacabra sightings. The mosquito-man sucks the blood from animals through his long nose, like a big mosquito. Some say mosquito-man and the chupacabra are one and the same

One story states that in September of 2006, a hotel employee named Valerie Pauls of Albuquerque, New Mexico was startled by a hissing noise upon arriving for work at about 7:00 in the morning. She glanced up to the sixth floor roof of the Amerisuites Hotel. She saw two glowing red eyes peering down upon her. The creature resembled a gargoyle, and smelled of sulphur. The creature terrified Ms. Pauls as it continued hissing and flashing neon colors. She became dizzy and disoriented. She managed to return to her vehicle as the alleged Chupacabra descended upon her vehicle. The creature broke the windshield before leaping back up unto the roof of the hotel and vanishing.

Notable sightings in the United States include one reported by multiple eye-witnesses in Calaveras County, California, and at a recent birthday celebration of a Development Team member of a local charity in Houston, Texas. According to these reports, the creature was sighted for the first time in the early to mid 1990s, harming animals of different species. However, it is now thought that the people did this themselves.

In 2005, Isaac Espinoza spent close to $6 million of his own money trying to track down the chupacabra. He lived in the jungles of South America for eight months with a team of researchers, video and print journalists and local guides. During the course of the expedition the team had several close encounters with a creature that the researchers were not able to identify. The team was able to capture several of their encounters with the creature on film and it has all been turned over to the University of Texas for analysis.

Hugo Mata, a professor of cryptozoology at the University of Texas, has said the hair and skin samples submitted by the team do not match any known species for that part of the world.

In July 2004, a rancher near San Antonio, Texas, killed a hairless, dog-like creature which was attacking his livestock. This creature is now known as the Elmendorf Creature. It was later determined to be a canine of some sort, most likely a coyote, with demodectic mange. In October 2004, two animals which closely resemble the Elmendorf Creature were observed in the same area. The first was dead, and a local zoologist who was called to identify the animal noticed the second while she was travelling to the location where the first was found. Specimens were studied by biologists in Texas. The creatures are thought to have been canines of undetermined species with skin problems and facial deformities.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, A 42 year old woman (Rebecca Tuggle) was on the way to her car when she heard a mysterious hissing noise. As she turned around she was terrified to see a creature partially resembling a lizard, a kangaroo, and a bat, with "rainbow-colored" spines running down its back. The creature stood 3-4' tall and grunted at her. The creature's hissing noise nauseated her and she nearly fainted. As with other sightings, the eyes were said to glow red and the animal smelled of a sulfuric substance.

The chupacabra has often been spotted in Michigan. A recent sighting occurred in Grand Haven, when a 42-year-old man claimed he saw it suck the blood out of a cat.
A famous appearance in the city of Varginha, Brazil, (the "Varginha incident") is sometimes attributed to the chupacabra, although cryptozoologists more frequently associate the incident with extraterrestrials. In 1997, an explosion of chupacabra sightings in Brazil was reported in Brazilian newspapers. One report came from a police officer, who claimed to get a nauseous feeling when he saw a dog-like chupacabra in a tree.

Recently, there has been a surge of chupacabra sightings in the United States, specifically in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and outside of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. However, controversy exists whether these chupacabra sightings are legitimate.

In Coleman, Texas, a farmer named Reggie Lagow caught an unknown animal in a trap he set up after the deaths of a number of his chickens and turkeys. The animal appeared to be a mix between a hairless dog, a rat and a kangaroo. The mystery animal was sent to Texas Parks and Wildlife in hopes of determining what it was.

In April of 2006, MosNews reported that the chupacabra was spotted in Russia for the first time. Reports from Central Russia beginning in March 2005 tell of a beast that kills animals and sucks out their blood. Thirty-two turkeys were killed and drained overnight. Reports later came from neighboring villages when 30 sheep were killed and had their blood drained. Finally eyewitnesses were able to describe the chupacabra. In May of 2006, experts were determined to track the animal down.

In mid-August 2006, Michelle O'Donnell of Turner, Maine, described an "evil looking" dog-like creature with fangs found along side a road, apparently struck by a car, but it was otherwise unidentifiable. Photographs were taken and several witness reports seem to be in relative agreement that the creature was canine in appearance, but unlike any dog or wolf in the area. The carcass was picked clean by vultures before experts could examine it. For years, residents of Maine have reported a mysterious creature and a string of dog maulings.

Supposed appearances
Descriptions of the physical appearance of each specimen can resemble descriptions of other reports, or be completely different from other chupacabra descriptions. Differences in descriptions are too wide to be attributed to differences in the perceptions of the observers, causing cryptozoologists to speculate that chupacabra reports may in fact be attributable to several species. Although they have different appearances, chupacabra descriptions have several common traits. They are typically described as being 3 ft. (1 m) or taller, and roughly humanoid in shape.

Usually, chupacabras are said to appear in three specific forms:

The first and most common form is a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo. In at least one sighting, the creature hopped 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue protruding from it, large fangs, and to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave a sulfuric stench behind. When it screeches, some reports note that the chupacabra's eyes glow an unusual red, then give the witnesses nausea.
The second variety bears a resemblance to a wallaby or dog standing on its hind legs. It stands and hops as a kangaroo, and it has coarse fur with greyish facial hair. The head is similar to a dog's, and its mouth has large teeth.
The third form is described as a strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, teeth, and claws. This animal is said to be the result of interbreeding between several populations of wild dogs, though enthusiasts claim that it might be an example of a dog-like reptile. The account during the year 2001 in Nicaragua of a chupacabra's corpse being found supports the conclusion that it is simply a strange breed of wild dog. The alleged corpse of the animal was found in Tolapa, Nicaragua, and forensically analyzed at UNAN-Leon. Pathologists at the University found that it was just an unusual-looking dog. There are very striking morphological differences between different breeds of dog, which can easily account for the strange characteristics.
Some reports claim the chupacabra's red eyes have the ability to hypnotize and paralyze their prey—leaving the prey animal mentally stunned, allowing the chupacabra to suck the animal's blood at its leisure. The effect is similar to the bite of the vampire bat, or of certain snakes or spiders that stun their prey with venom. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabras sucks all the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole or two holes.

Many residents of South America have reported sightings of El Chupacabras, and although various, the descriptions share some significant likenesses. In many reports, accounts include the visible inflation of the stomach region, after El Chupacabras has been feeding. The appearance of the animal changes when an internal bladder-like organ fills with the blood of its prey. Furthermore, with almost all the reported sightings witnesses have reported large protruding fangs. These fangs are suspected to be hollow and be the vehicles for the blood on which it feeds.

Theories
It has been described as similar to gargoyles, so it has been theorized that the creatures were seen in Medieval Europe. According to this theory, gargoyles were carved to resemble chupacabras, to keep the public (and sometimes believed to keep evil spirits) afraid of any place with gargoyles.
Some cryptozoologists speculate that chupacabras are alien creatures. Chupacabras are widely described as otherworldly, and, according to one witness report, NASA may be involved with this particular alien's residency on earth. The witness reported that NASA passed through an area in Latin America, with a trailer that was thought to contain an incarcerated creature. There have also been UFOs seen where chupacabras have been at the same time on occasion. Others speculate that the creature is an escaped pet of alien visitors that wandered off while its master was visiting Earth. The Chupacabra does have a slight resemblance to the Greys, which could mean that they are somehow related.
Some people in the island of Puerto Rico believe that the chupacabras were a genetic experiment from some United States' government agency, which escaped from a secret laboratory in El Yunque, a mountain in the east part of the island when the laboratory was damaged during a severe storm in the early 1990's.
An alternative, scientifically accepted explanation is that the creatures are not real at all, and the sightings are a product of superstition and imagination.
Mass hysteria

In fiction
In the Vol. 2 Trade Paperback of the Comic Book Series The Amazing Joy Buzzards published by Image Comics El Campeon who is a mythical Mexican Wrestler teams up with bandmember Gabe Caryle in Costa Rica to take out a den of Chupacabras in the story "The Devil's Zapatos". El Chupa is also a villain in this series who rules over and has Chupacabras as his minions.
In the issue 4 of the Image Comics series Hero Camp the Chupacabra makes an appearance as he threatens to eat the Goat Man. Also note that the chupacabra was created by the chupa chups lollipop maker in order to boost marginal sales by over 1000%.
In episode 1-01 ("Dia de los Dangerous") of The Venture Bros., the Chupacabra is said to be, per a superscientific formula, an urban legend, but appears later in the episode, attacking Dr. Venture. After it was disposed by Brock Samson, Dr. Venture asked, "What the hell was that?!?" and Brock replies, "Chupacabra. They're all over Mexico."
The episode "El Mundo Gira" of the TV series X-Files is about a man believed to be El Chupacabras (an issue of the Topps comic book based on the FOX series also featured the chupacabras).
In November of 2005 the Sci-Fi Channel aired a movie called Chupacabra Terror, about a beast killing on a cruise ship.
An episode of Dexter's Laboratory had the Chupacabras as one of Dexter's experiments (which he named Charlie) that escaped to South America. Throughout the episode, Dexter could not remember the creature's purpose until the end, when he realized that he created Charlie to scare his sister, Dee Dee.
In an episode of Jackie Chan Adventures, the Chupacabras only came out at night, and attacked the live-stock in its area. If the Chupacabras bit or scratched a person, he or she would become a chupacabra, similar to the mythical Werewolf.
Canadian punk-pop band Chixdiggit recorded a song named "Chupacabra".
American Power Metal band Cage recorded a song named "Chupacabra".
Psychedelic Welsh rockers the Super Furry Animals released a song called "Chupacabras" on their 1997 album "Radiator".
The experimental rock band M.I.R.V. has a song titled "Chupacabras" on the album "Feeding Time on Monkey Island".
A monster named El Chupanibre appeared in an episode of the TV Series Futurama. It was portrayed as a large bipedal/primate like reptile which lived in the sewers and preyed on mutants.
The hip hop collaboration group Danger Doom has a song titled "El Chupa Nibre" on the album "The Mouse and the Mask".
In an episode of Maya & Miguel, the twins claimed that they had a Chupacabras as a pet, and tried to trick the whole town into believing them, before realizing that the real chupacabra was there.
In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Billy found a supernatural video documentary on the Chupacabras which summoned the chupacabra from the T.V. screen to suck out the viewer's brain.
In Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico, the gang attempted to track down a chupacabra which was terrorising Veracruz and the nearby villages. instead of the correct reptilian beast, a bigfoot was incorrectly used.
In an episode of Mucha Lucha, The Flea tried to use a hair grow formula to sport a new hairstyle, and ended up being mistaken for the chupacabra, angering the real chupacabra, which resulted in a fight.
In an early episode of Red vs. Blue, "Chupathingy" (a derivative of "Chupacabra") is suggested as a name for the new vehicle.
In the episode "Game Slave 2" of Invader Zim, Gaz told Dib that there was a chupacabra in the parking garage of the mall to get rid of him, to which Dib replied, "But there isn't a goat to feed on for miles."
In an episode of American Dad, Stan and daughter Hayley engaged in back-and-forth insults, with Stan eventually resorting to calling Hayley "Chupacabra!" Hayley's response was to ask "I'm the Mexican Bigfoot?"
A comic book version of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror featured a story of a chupacabra that escaped Professor Frink's lab and killed off almost all of the regulars at Moe's Tavern.
In the episode "Bite Me" of Charmed, while looking in the Book of Shadows for a creature that flies and bites (later found to be a Vampire), Piper found an entry for chupacabra, which said that while Chupacabra's fly and bite, they only attack livestock.
In an issue of The Onion, an online satirical newspaper, there was a fictional article by the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, titled, "The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is The Chupacabra."
In the short story "Kiss" by Steve Berman, the Chupacabra plays a role in a young gay man's search for his own identity.
In the book "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer, the stories about the chupacabra are used to frighten the protagonist as a young child so that he will not leave the house at night.
In the horror anthology "Tropical Tales of Terror" by writer Roberto Guzman (published by Bookman publishing (www.bookmanmarketing.com) in 2004) the short story "The Elderly Xeno Hawks of El Yunque" suggested that the chupacabras legend was based on a hidden race of intelligent creatures descended from prehistoric hawks.
The chupacabra appears quite frequently in the Castlevania series of videogames most commonly encountered in underground areas and attack by sticking out an elongated tongue
There is a mid-boss monster called "El Chupacabras" in the PC game Diablo.
The Chupacabra appears in one episode of Sealab 2021 entitled "Episode 40 - Isla de Chupacabra"
El Chupacabra is a B-movie released in 2003.
In the American television show "Will & Grace" (First episode of season 4), Rosario startles Karen, to which Karen tells her "You scared the hell outta' me! I thought you were the Chupacabra!!"
In the song "Earthquakes and Sharks" by the indie rock/emo band Brandtson "Chupacabras" are mentioned.
The Belgian metalband Sons of Jonathas has a song that is called "Chupacabra".
Page Springs Vineyard and Cellars (A winery situated in Arizona) have released a wine, entitled 'Chupacabra' that is an undisclosed blend of various grape varieties.
Independent film released in 2005 "Mexican Werewolf in Texas" originally titled "Chupacabra". Mexican Werewolf website

Naming convention
"Chupacabra" can be roughly translated as "goat-sucker." It is known as both "chupacabras" and "chupacabra" throughout the Americas, with the former probably being the original word, and the latter a better regularization of it. The name can be preceded by the masculine definite article ("el chupacabras"), or the plural masculine article ("los chupacabras").

The term was supposedly coined by Puerto Rican television personality Silverio Pérez, who intended the name to be a joke.

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